Editing Subutai (section)

==Invasions of the Xi Xia and Jin China (1207, 1209, 1211–1215, 1226–27)==
{{Main|Mongol conquest of the Jin dynasty}}
In the initial invasion of the Jin in 1211, Subutai served with Jebe's army that attacked the Chinese forts around the eastern edge of the Great Wall (not the Ming [[Great Wall]]). In late 1211 he was the first to scale the walls of the key fortress of Huan-Chou, and took part in the ambush of a major Jin army at Wu Sha Pao and the climactic [[battle of Yehuling]]. In 1212, he may have served with Jebe during the latter's daring capture of Liaoyang, and in 1213 he served with Muqali and Jebe in a great raid in Shandong.<ref>''In the Service of the Khan'', Paul Buell, 17–18.</ref>

Subutai played a key part in the campaign against the Tanguts of [[Xi Xia]] in 1226, serving as commander of the flank army to strike the Tanguts in the rear. While Genghis invaded the Xi Xia by a more traditional northern route, Subutai unexpectedly attacked from the west over the mountains and inhospitable deserts in modern Turkestan, causing Tangut resistance to collapse. The Tangut Empire was cut in two: with Genghis preventing reinforcements being sent west, Subutai subdued resistance in the west and joined with Genghis's main army to conquer the east. In 1227, he conquered the [[Jin dynasty (1115–1234)|Jin]] districts along the upper [[Wei River]], and even raided the Kingdom of Tibet.<ref>Buell, 20.</ref> Though the Mongols conquered Xi Xia, Mongol operations against Jin China were interrupted by the death of Genghis Khan in 1227. Genghis Khan was succeeded by his son [[Ögedei Khan|Ögedei]] in 1229.

===Conquest of Jin China (1231–1235)===
{{Main|Mongol conquest of the Jin dynasty}}
[[File:Mongol Invasion of China.png|thumb|250px|Mongol conquest of Jurchen Jin and other regimes of China]]
After a humiliating defeat by the resurgent Jin in 1230–1231, Ögedei personally led the main Mongol army against the Jin (in Central [[China]]) and appointed Subutai to salvage the situation. Subutai had originally been assigned to conquer the Kipchak Turks in central Russia in 1229,<ref>Rashid al-Din, ''Annals of Ogedei Khan'', 33.</ref> but was hurriedly recalled to China in 1229–1230 after the Mongol general Doqolqu [[Battle of Dachangyuan|suffered a major defeat]].<ref>Christopher P. Atwood, ''Pu'a's Boast and Doqolqu's Death: Historiography of a Hidden Scandal in the Mongol Conquest of the Jin'', 31.</ref> Against Subutai, the Jin generals retreated from Shaanxi and implemented a scorched earth policy to hold the fortified [[Tongguan Pass]] and block any access to the Jin stronghold of Henan. They calculated that the scorched earth policies would deny the Mongols the ability to sustain a lengthy siege, and their lines of fortifications and difficult terrain would prevent the Mongols from outmaneuvering them.

At the [[Battle of Daohuigu]], Subutai initially attempted to outflank the Jin by feinting an attack at the fortified location of Weizhou and maneuvering through an unguarded side corridor. Though the Jin were fooled by the feint, they moved with great alacrity once Subutai's main advance was discovered, and the attempt to break into the plains of [[Henan]] ended in failure after Subutai's advanced raiding parties were checked at Shan-ch’e-hui. The Mongols defeated a relieving force and captured Fengxiang, a secondary target, by concentrating 400 trebuchets at a corner of the wall. However, the overall campaign seemed to have reached a stalemate.<ref>Christopher P. Atwood, ''Pu'a's Boast and Doqolqu's Death: Historiography of a Hidden Scandal in the Mongol Conquest of the Jin'', 31–41.</ref>

In 1231–1232 Subutai made another attempt to outmaneuver the Jin fortified lines by using a similar highly audacious approach that they had employed in Khwarezm (1219) and Xi Xia (1226). The Mongols divided into three armies, one to attack Henan from the North in the center of the Yellow River, another to attempt to cross the Yellow River in Shandong in the east, and the last, under Subutai and [[Tolui]], invading the [[Song Empire]] and attacking Henan from the more exposed south.<ref>Atwood, 34.</ref> The Song initially refused to allow the Mongols passage through the rugged Qinling mountains, so Subutai dodged their forces and isolated the mountain citadels one by one. Disheartened by the ease of the Mongol advance against their strong fortifications, the Song agreed to supply guides.<ref>Yuanshi 115.2885–6.</ref> This time Subutai was able to outmaneuver the Jin armies and cross the Han River to invade Henan from the south.

The main Jin army promptly marched to intercept Subutai's army at Mount Yu. Its commander, Wan Yen Heda attempted to ambush the Mongols, but the ambush was detected. In turn, the Mongols attempted to draw him into their own ambush with a feigned retreat, but he held his strong position. After a full day of fierce fighting that resulted in a stalemate, the Mongols retreated under darkness and attempted to hide their trail and outflank the Jin. Wan Yen Heda had retreated towards the city of Tengzhou in order to obtain supplies. Changing tracks, Subutai, identifying that the Jin were vulnerable to attrition, used a feint attack to temporarily divert the Jin forces away from their supply train, which he promptly seized with a hidden force.<ref>Yuanshi 121, 122 in: Pow  and  Liao, 60–62, 71–72.</ref> Rather than continually attempting to attack the vigilant Jin during their retreat, Subutai instead dispersed his army into several detachments to target supplies in the area. 3,000 men masked the Mongol dispersion and occupied the Jin's attention, while other Mongol forces slowly slipped away from the field in small numbers to hide their movements towards the Jin capital of Kaifeng, the route that Wan Yen Heda was retreating along.<ref>Carl Svedrup, "Sube'etei Ba'atur", ''Anonymous Strategist'', 41–43.</ref>

With part of his force harassing the Jin army's foragers, the other units marched around the flanks in a wide arc and emerged ahead of the Jin army, aiming to destroy or steal the supplies of nearby villages along the Jin's line of retreat. Ogedei Khan had been able to cross the Yellow River after the Jin army blocking him had to march south to help Wan Yan Heda. With Subutai's army having maneuvered along the Jin rear, Ogedei was able to send reinforcements to Subutai, bringing the total Mongol strength to 50,000 men. After these reinforcements arrived and with the Jin army's food supplies severely depleted over the past three weeks, Subutai forced a battle on his terms and won a decisive victory at the [[Battle of Sanfengshan]], capturing Wan Yen Heda and annihilating the main Jin army which had nowhere safe to retreat to. He then made forced marches and eliminated the other Jin armies holding the other fronts at the battles of Yangyi (24 February 1232), and T’iehling (1 March 1232).<ref>Carl Svedrup, "Sube`etei Ba`atur", ''Anonymous Strategist'', 41–43.</ref>

The heavily fortified city of Kaifeng required an eight month long siege. Subutai was forced to construct lines of [[Wikt:circumvallate#Verb|circumvallation]] that had a perimeter stretching {{convert|54|mi|km|order=flip|abbr=on}}. Additionally, the Jin began to employ a cutting edge gunpowder weapon called "Thunder Crash Bombs", which made it very difficult for the Mongols to get close enough for more concentrated fire. After cutting off Kaifeng from any outside help, Subutai alternated intense bombardments using a mixture of Muslim trebuchets, [[mangonel]]s, and captured gunpowder with periods of rest and plundering the countryside. The Mongol dispersion helped them avoid contagion by the plague that devastated Kaifeng, and after being stretched to the limit, the Emperor fled and the city surrendered. Subutai originally wanted to execute everyone in Kaifeng to punish them for their [[Wikt:intransigence|intransigence]] and extremely long resistance. However, Ögedei intervened and ordered Subutai to treat them fairly.<ref>McLynn, 407–410.</ref>  With assistance from the Song dynasty, the last Jin stronghold of Caizhou fell in 1234.

However, it did not take the Song long to fall out with the Mongols. Two Song armies seized [[Kaifeng]] and [[Luoyang]] during the summer of 1234 during Subutai's absence. Subutai returned, destroyed the three Song armies by isolating and defeating them, and retook the cities. He then made a preemptive raid into Song territory to force them to adopt a defensive position. Though war had begun between the Mongols and Song, Subutai was recalled to the west. Still, Subutai's victories had taught the Song a lesson they would heed: no Song army would dare venture north to attack Mongol territory afterward.